Controlled deployment of application feature

ABSTRACT

Controlled deployment of an application feature is provided. A deployment service initiates operations to control deployment of the application feature by receiving a definition of a feature of a mobile application and a group of tenants of the mobile application from a developer. The definition is used to allow the mobile application associated with the group of tenants to activate the feature. Next, a tenant identification is received from the mobile application. The tenant identification is compared to the group of tenants to detect the tenant identification as within the group of tenants. In response, an instruction is transmitted to the mobile application associated with the tenant identification to activate the feature.

This application is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of co-pendingpatent application Ser. No. 15/728,668 filed on Oct. 10, 2017, which isa continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/983,598 filed onDec. 30, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,823,919. This disclosure of both ofthese prior-filed applications is hereby incorporated by reference inits entirety.

BACKGROUND

People interact with computer applications through user interfaces.While audio, tactile, and similar forms of user interfaces areavailable, visual user interfaces through a display device are the mostcommon form of a user interface. With the development of faster andsmaller electronics for computing devices, smaller size devices such ashandheld computers, smart phones, tablet devices, and comparable deviceshave become common. Such devices execute a wide variety of applicationsranging from communication applications to complicated analysis tools.Many such applications are updated frequently with features that arerarely tested.

Vast number of feature requests and feature deployments complicatestable, application deployment. Indeed, updates, changes, and/oradditions to applications cause difficulties in upkeep by developers.While maintaining an application, an additional layer of complicationfaced by a developer includes feature requests associated by consumersof the application. Complications with multiple feature requests andvast number of applications may lead to mismanagement of issues thatarises with introduction of new features.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to exclusively identify keyfeatures or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is itintended as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

Embodiments are directed to controlled deployment of an applicationfeature. In some examples, a deployment service may receive a definitionof a feature of a mobile application and a group of tenants of a mobileapplication from a developer. The deployment service may also receive atenant identification from the mobile application. Next, the tenantidentification may be detected within the group of tenants. In response,an instruction may be transmitted to the mobile application associatedwith the tenant identification to activate the feature.

These and other features and advantages will be apparent from a readingof the following detailed description and a review of the associateddrawings. It is to be understood that both the foregoing generaldescription and the following detailed description are explanatory anddo not restrict aspects as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of providingcontrolled deployment of an application feature, according toembodiments;

FIG. 2 is a display diagram illustrating an example of a scheme toprovide controlled deployment of an application feature, according toembodiments;

FIG. 3 is a display diagram illustrating another example of a scheme toprovide controlled deployment of an application feature, according toembodiments;

FIG. 4 is a display diagram illustrating activation of a feedback schemeto provide controlled deployment of an application feature, according toembodiments;

FIG. 5 is a simplified networked environment, where a system accordingto embodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example computing device, which may beused to provide controlled deployment of an application feature,according to embodiments; and

FIG. 7 is a logic flow diagram illustrating a process for providingcontrolled deployment of an application feature, according toembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As briefly described above, a deployment service provides controlleddeployment of an application feature. In an example scenario, thedeployment service may receive a definition of a feature of a mobileapplication and a group of tenants of the mobile application from adeveloper. The definition may be used to allow the mobile applicationassociated with the group of tenants to activate the feature. Thefeature may include an existing component, a new component, and/or afeedback component, among other components of the mobile application.Next, a tenant identification may be received from the mobileapplication. The tenant identification may include a unique identifierassociated with a tenant accessing the mobile application.

The tenant identification may be compared to the group of tenants todetect the tenant, identification as within the group of tenants. Thegroup of tenants may include a subset of a tenant base classified totest the feature, and/or use the feature, among others. Next, aninstruction may be transmitted to the mobile application associated withthe tenant identification to activate the feature.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings that forma part hereof, and in which are shown byway of illustrations, specific embodiments, or examples. These aspectsmay be combined, other aspects may be utilized, and structural changesmay be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the presentdisclosure. The following detailed description is therefore not to betaken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention isdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

While some embodiments will be described in the general context ofprogram modules that execute in conjunction with an application programthat runs on an operating system on a personal computer, those skilledin the art will recognize that aspects may also be implemented incombination with other program modules.

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, datastructures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasksor implement particular abstract datatypes. Moreover, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that embodiments may be practiced with othercomputer system configurations, including hand-held devices,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and comparablecomputing devices. Embodiments may also be practiced in distributedcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed computing environment, program modules may be located inboth local and remote memory storage devices.

Some embodiments may be implemented as a computer-implemented process(method), a computing system, or as an article of manufacture, such as acomputer program product or computer readable media. The computerprogram product may be a computer storage medium readable by a computersystem and encoding a computer program that comprises instructions forcausing a computer or computing system to perform example process(es).The computer-readable storage medium is a physical computer-readablememory device. The computer-readable storage medium can for example beimplemented via one or more of a volatile computer memory, anon-volatile memory, a hard drive, a flash drive, a floppy disk, or acompact disk, and comparable hardware media.

Throughout this specification, the term “platform” may be a combinationof software and hardware components to provide controlled deployment ofan application feature, Examples of platforms include, but are notlimited to, a hosted service executed over a plurality of servers, anapplication executed on a single computing device, and comparablesystems. The term “server” generally refers to a computing deviceexecuting one or more software programs typically in a networkedenvironment. More detail on these technologies and example operations isprovided below.

A computing device, as used herein, refers to a device comprising atleast a memory and a processor that includes a desktop computer, alaptop computer, a tablet computer, a smart phone, a vehicle mountcomputer, or a wearable computer. A memory may be a removable ornon-removable component of a computing device configured to store one ormore instructions to be executed by one or more processors. A processormay be a component of a computing device coupled to a memory andconfigured to execute programs in conjunction with instructions storedby the memory. A file is any form of structured data that is associatedwith audio, video, or similar content. An operating system is a systemconfigured to manage hardware and software components of a computingdevice that provides common services and applications. An integratedmodule is a component of an application or service that is integratedwithin the application or service such that the application or serviceis configured to execute the component. A computer-readable memorydevice is a physical computer-readable storage medium implemented viaone or more of a volatile computer memory, a ion-volatile memory, a harddrive, a flash drive, a floppy disk, or a compact disk, and comparablehardware media that includes instructions thereon to automatically savecontent to a location. A user experience—a visual display associatedwith an application or service through which a user interacts with theapplication or service. A user action refers to an interaction between auser and a user experience of an application or a user experienceprovided by a service that includes one of touch input, gesture input,voice command, eye tracking, gyroscopic input, pen input, mouse input,and keyboards input. An application programming interface (API) may be aset of routines, protocols, and tools for an application or service thatenable the application or service to interact or communicate with one ormore other applications and services managed by separate entities.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of providingcontrolled deployment of an application feature, according toembodiments.

In a diagram 100, a server 108 may execute a deployment service 102. Theserver 108 may include a physical server providing one or more servicesto client devices. A service may include an application performingoperations in relation to a client application and/or a subscriber,among others. The server 108 may include and/or is part of aworkstation, a data warehouse, and/or a data center, among others.

The server 108 may execute the deployment service 102 to manage featuresprovided by a mobile application 103. Release of a feature 105 may becontrolled to test the feature 105 prior to deployment to an entirety ofa tenant base of a mobile application 103, The mobile application 103may be rendered by a client device 104 to a tenant 110. A developer 112may provide a definition to the deployment service 102 to create a groupof tenants and the feature 105 to activate at the mobile application103. The deployment service 102 may relate the feature 105 with thegroup of the tenants.

Next, the deployment service 102 may compare a tenant identification ofa tenant 110 against the group of tenants to detect the tenantidentification within the group of tenants. In response to detecting thetenant identification within the group of tenants, the deploymentservice 102 may transmit an instruction to the mobile application 103 toactivate the feature 105 for consumption by the tenant 110.

The server 108 may communicate with the client device 104 through anetwork. The network may provide wired or wireless communicationsbetween nodes such as the client device 104, or the server 108, amongothers, Previous example(s) to control features at the mobileapplication 103 is not provided in a limiting sense. Alternatively, thedeployment service 102 may control deployment of the feature 105 at adesktop application, a workstation application, and/or a serverapplication, among others. The mobile application 103 may also include aclient interface of the deployment service 102.

The tenant 110 may interact with the mobile application 103 with akeyboard based input, a mouse based input, a voice based input, a penbased input, and a gesture based input, among others. The gesture basedinput may include one or more touch based actions such as a touchaction, a swipe action, and a combination of each, among others.

While the example system in FIG. 1 has been described with specificcomponents including the server 108, the deployment service 102,embodiments are not limited to these components or system configurationsand can be implemented with other system configuration employing feweror additional components.

FIG. 2 is a display diagram illustrating an example of a scheme toprovide controlled deployment of an application feature, according toembodiments.

In a diagram 200, a server 208 may provide a deployment service 202 toallow a developer to control deployment of features (205, 207) to amobile application 203. The features (205, 207) may include componentsof the mobile application 203 such as a user experience module and/or afeedback module, among others. The mobile application 203 may beinstalled with the features (205, 207) at a client device and which maybe activated and/or deactivated.

Alternatively, the features (205, 20) may be installed through an updateoperation subsequent to an initial installation of the mobileapplication 203 at the client device. The features (205, 207) installedthrough the update operation may be activated and/or deactivated.Activation of the features (205, 207) may include rendering userinterfaced) associated with the features (205, 207) or enablingoperations associated with the features (205, 207) at the mobileapplication 203. Deactivation of the features (205.207) may includehiding user interfaces associated with the features (205, 207) ordisabling operations associated with the features (205, 207) at themobile application 203.

For example, the deployment service 202 may receive a definition of agroup of tenants 216 and a feature 205 to activate at the mobileapplication 203 from a developer. The deployment service 202 may alsoreceive a tenant identification 212 from the mobile application 203, inresponse to an initiation (or an execution) of the mobile application203 at the client device. Next, the tenant identification 212 may becompared to the group of tenants 216. In response to detecting thetenant identification 212 within the group of tenants 216, aninstruction may be transmitted to the mobile application 203 to activatethe feature 205.

The developer may choose to stagger deployment of the feature 205 tothoroughly test the feature 205 prior to deployment to entirety of atenant base of the mobile application 203. The test group such as thegroup of tenants 216 may be selected by the developer to try out thefeatures (205, 207). The mobile application 203 may also be instructedto provide feedback feature(s) to allow the test group to evaluate thefeature 205. Feedback may allow the developer to identify faults and/orbugs in the feature 205 and fix any issues with the feature prior todeployment to the tenant base of the mobile application.

Alternatively, the deployment service 202 may receive a definition fromthe developer to deploy the feature 205 to a percentage of the group oftenants 216. After receiving a request to activate the feature 205 in amobile application 203 from the developer, the deployment service 202may wait to receive a tenant identification 212 of a tenant 210 from themobile application 203. The mobile application 203 may transmit thetenant identification 212 at an initiation of the mobile application 203in a client device in response to an input by the tenant 210. The tenantidentification 212 may include a unique identifier assigned to thetenant 210 such as a credential.

The group of tenants may be analyzed to determine an availability of anallocation within the percentage of the group of tenants 216. If theavailability of the allocation is detected, the deployment service 202may transmit an instruction to the mobile application 203 to activatethe feature 205. If an unavailability of the allocation is detected, thedeployment service 202 may transmit an instruction to the mobileapplication 203 to not activate the feature.

Alternatively, the deployment service 202 may receive an instruction todeactivate a feature 207 deployed to the mobile application 203 from thedeveloper. The deployment service 202 may wait to receive the tenantidentification 212 in response to an initiation of the mobileapplication 203 at the client device to transmit an instruction todeactivate a feature 207. Alternatively, the deployment service 202 maytransmit an instruction to deactivate the feature 207 to the mobileapplication 203 and other mobile applications identified to have anactivated version of the feature 207.

In another example scenario, a tenant attribute 214 may be identified bythe deployment service 202 to classify the tenant 210 as within thegroup of tenants 216. For example, a tenant location as the tenantattribute 214 may be compared to a geographic location (such as a city,a country, a continent, and/or a marketing zone, among others). Thetenant identification 212 may be identified as within die group oftenants 216 in response to detecting the tenant location as encompassedwithin the geographical location of the group of tenants 216 maydetermine. Alternatively, the tenant location outside the geographicallocation of the group of tenants 216 may be used to deactivate thefeature 207 deployed to the mobile application 203 associated with thetenant 210.

Similarly, a tenant role may also be used as the tenant attribute 214 tocompare against the group attribute associated with the group of tenants216. An example of tenant role may include a tester, a supervisor,and/or a power user, among others. A match may be used to classify thetenant identification 212 as within the group of tenants 216. A failureto match may be used to transmit an instruction to deactivate a deployedfeature such as the feature 207 to the mobile application 20:3associated with a tenant who has the tenant role.

FIG. 3 is a display diagram illustrating another example of a scheme toprovide controlled deployment of an application feature, according toembodiments.

In a diagram 300, a deployment service 302 (executed by a server 308)may receive a definition that includes a feature 305 and a group oftenants 310. The definition may be used to activate the feature 305 at amobile application 303. At an initiation of the mobile application 303,a tenant identification transmitted from the mobile application 303 maybe matched to the group of tenants and an instruction may be transmittedto the mobile application 303 to activate the feature 305.

The deployment service 302 may receive a new request to deploy a feature307 from the developer. The request may include a definition of a newgroup of the tenants and the feature 307. The feature 307 may be a newfeature of a mobile application 313 that the developer may wish testwith the new group of the tenants. The feature 307 may be deployed tothe mobile application 313 by the deployment service 302 in adeactivated state. Alternatively, the feature 307 may be deployed to themobile application 313 using a third party deployment scheme.

The deployment service 302 may wait to receive a tenant identificationof a tenant 320 to instruct the mobile application 313 to activate thefeature 307. The tenant identification of the tenant 320 may be comparedto the new group of the tenants. If the tenant identification is foundwithin the new group of the tenants, the mobile application 313 may beinstructed to activate the feature 307 for consumption by the tenant320.

FIG. 4 is a display diagram illustrating activation of a feedback schemeto provide controlled deployment of an application feature, according toembodiments.

In a diagram 400, a deployment service 402 (executed by a server 408 maybe used by a developer to control deployment of features (405, 407) anda feedback feature 409. The deployment service 402 may receive adefinition of the feature 405 and a group of tenants 410 for deploymentat a mobile application 403. The deployment service 402 may receive atenant identification in response to an initiation of the mobileapplication 403. The tenant identification may be detected within thegroup of tenants 410. Next, the deployment service 402 may instruct themobile application 403 to activate the feature 405 for consumption by atenant associated with the tenant identification.

Alternatively, the deployment service 402 may receive a definition todeploy the features (405, 407) and a feedback feature 409 to other groupof tenants, from the developer. A tenant identification of a tenant 420may be compared to the other group of tenants to identify the tenantidentification as within the other group of tenants. In response, themobile application 413 may be instructed to activate the features (405,407) and the feedback feature 409.

A positive feedback received from the mobile application 413 regardingthe feature 407 may be used to instruct the mobile application 403 toactivate the feature 407 for consumption by the group of tenants 410.Alternatively, the mobile application for the tenant base may beinstructed to activate the feature 407 in response to the positivefeedback from the mobile application 413 automatically or based on arequest from the developer. The mobile application 413 may also beinstructed to deactivate the feature 407 in response to a negativefeedback received from the mobile application 413. The developer may benotified of the negative feedback to prompt the developer to address theissue causing the negative feedback.

As discussed above, the deployment service may be employed to performoperations to automate controlled deployment of an application feature.An increased user efficiency with the mobile application 103 may occuras a result of providing controlled deployment of an application featurethrough the deployment service 102. Additionally, feature management forgroup of tenants consuming the feature of the mobile application 103 bythe deployment service 102 may reduce processor load, increaseprocessing speed, conserve memory, and reduce network bandwidth usage.

Embodiments, as described herein, address a need that arises from a lackof efficiency to manage features of a mobile application 103 of a clientdevice 104 managed by a deployment service 102. The actions/operationsdescribed herein are not a mere use of a computer, but address resultsthat are a direct consequence of software used as a service offered tolarge numbers of users and applications.

The example scenarios and schemas in FIG. 1 through 4 are shown withspecific components, data types, and configurations. Embodiments are notlimited to systems according to these example configurations. Providingcontrolled deployment of an application feature may be implemented inconfigurations employing fewer or additional components in applicationsand user interfaces. Furthermore, the example schema and componentsshown in FIG. 1 through 4 and their subcomponents may be implemented ina similar manner with other values using the principles describedherein.

FIG. 5 is an example networked environment, where embodiments may beimplemented. A deployment service configured to provide controlleddeployment of an application feature may be implemented via softwareexecuted over one or more servers 514 such as a hosted service. Theplatform may communicate with client applications on individualcomputing devices such as a smart phone 513, a mobile computer 512, ordesktop computer 511 (‘client devices’) through network(s) 510.

Client applications executed on any of the client devices 511-513 mayfacilitate communications via application(s) executed by servers 514, oron individual server 516. A deployment service may receive a definitionof a feature of a mobile application and a group of tenants of a mobileapplication from a developer and a tenant identification from the mobileapplication. Next, the tenant identification may be detected within thegroup of tenants. In response, an instruction may be transmitted to themobile application associated with the tenant identification to activatethe feature. The deployment service may store data associated with thefeature in data store(s) 519 directly or through database server 518.

Network(s) 510 may comprise any topology of servers, clients, Internetservice providers, and communication media. A system according toembodiments may have a static or dynamic topology. Network(s) 510 mayinclude secure networks such as an enterprise network, an unsecurenetwork such as a wireless open network, or the Internet. Network(s) 510may also coordinate communication over other networks such as PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN) or cellular networks. Furthermore,network(s) 510 may include short range wireless networks such asBluetooth or similar ones. Network(s) 510 provide communication betweenthe nodes described herein. By way of example, and not limitation,network(s) 510 may include wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infraredand other wireless media.

Many other configurations of computing devices, applications, datasources, and data distribution systems may be employed to providecontrolled deployment of an application feature. Furthermore, thenetworked environments discussed in FIG. 5 are for illustration purposesonly. Embodiments are not limited to the example as modules, orprocesses.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example computing device, which may beused to provide controlled deployment of an application feature,according to embodiment.

For example, computing device 600 may be used as a server, desktopcomputer, portable computer, smart phone, special purpose computer, orsimilar device. In an example, basic configuration 602, the computingdevice 600 may include one or more processors 604 and a system memory606. A memory bus 608 may be used for communication between theprocessor 604 and the system memory 606. The basic configuration 602 maybe illustrated in FIG. 6 by those components within the inner dashedline.

Depending on the desired configuration, the processor 604 may be of anytype, including but not limited to a microprocessor (μP), amicrocontroller (μC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or anycombination thereof. The processor 604 may include one more levels ofcaching, such as a level cache memory 612, one or more processor cores614, and registers 616. The example processor cores 614 may (each)include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a floating point unit (FPU), adigital signal processing core (DSP Core), or any combination thereof.An example memory controller 618 may also be used with the processor604, or in some implementations, the memory controller 618 may be aninternal part of the processor 604.

Depending on the desired configuration, the system memory 606 may be ofany type including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM),non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.), or anycombination thereof. The system memory 606 may include an operatingsystem 620, a deployment service 622, and a program data 624. Thedeployment service 622 may include components such as a feature module626 and a communication module 627. The feature module 626 and thecommunication module 627 may execute the processes associated with thedeployment service 622. The feature module 626 may receive a definitionof a feature of a mobile application and a group of tenants of a mobileapplication from a developer, a tenant identification from the mobileapplication. Next, the tenant identification may be detected within thegroup of tenants. In response, the communication module 627 may transmitan instruction to the mobile application associated with the tenantidentification to activate the feature.

Input to and output out of the deployment service 622 may be transmittedthrough a communication device associated with the computing device 600.An example of the communication device may include, a networking devicethat may be communicatively coupled to the computing device 600. Thenetworking device may provide wired and/or wireless communication. Theprogram data 624 may also include, among other data, feature data 628,or the like, as described herein. The feature data 628 may include atenant identification, a tenant attribute, among others.

The computing device 600 may have additional features or functionality,and additional interfaces to facilitate communications between the basicconfiguration 602 and any desired devices and interfaces. For example, abus/interface controller 630 may be used to facilitate communicationsbetween the basic configuration 602 and one or more data storage devices632 via a storage interface bus 634. The data storage devices 632 may beone or more removable storage devices 636, one or more non-removablestorage devices 638, or a combination thereof. Examples of the removablestorage and the non-removable storage devices may include magnetic diskdevices, such as flexible disk drives and hard-disk drives (HDD),optical disk drives such as compact disk (CD) drives or digitalversatile disk (DVD) drives, solid state drives (SSD), and tape drives,to name a few, Example computer storage media may include volatile andnonvolatile, removable, and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information, such ascomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data.

The system memory 606, the removable storage devices 636 and thenon-removable storage devices 638 are examples of computer storagemedia. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM,E EPROM, Hash memory or other memory technology. CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVDs), solid state drives, or other optical storage,magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium which may be used to storethe desired information and which may be accessed by the computingdevice 600. Any such computer storage media may be part of the computingdevice 600.

The computing device 600 may also include an interface bus 640 forfacilitating communication from various interface devices (for example,one or more output devices 642, one or more peripheral interfaces 644,and one or more communication devices 666) to the basic configuration602 via the bus/interface controller 630. Some of the example outputdevices 642 include a graphics processing unit 648 and an audioprocessing unit 650, which may be configured to communicate to variousexternal devices such as a display or speakers via one or more A/V ports652. One or more example peripheral interfaces 644 may include a serialinterface controller 654 or a parallel interface controller 656, whichmay be configured to communicate with external devices such as inputdevices (for example, keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touchinput device, etc.) or other peripheral devices (for example, printer,scanner, etc.) via one or more I/O ports 658. An example of thecommunication device(s) 666 includes a network controller 660, which maybe arranged to facilitate communications with one or more othercomputing devices 662 over a network communication link via one or morecommunication ports 664. The one or more other computing devices 662 mayinclude servers, computing devices, and comparable devices.

The network communication link may be one example of a communicationmedia. Communication media may typically be embodied by computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other datain a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism, and may include any information delivery media. A “modulateddata signal” may be a signal that has one or more of its characteristicsset or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal.By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may includewired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, andwireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), microwave,infrared (IR) and other wireless media. The term computer readable mediaas used herein may include both storage media and communication media.

The computing device 600 may be implemented as a part of a generalpurpose or specialized server, mainframe, or similar computer, whichincludes any of the above functions. The computing device 600 may alsobe implemented as a personal computer including both laptop computer andnon-laptop computer configurations.

Example embodiments may also include methods to provide controlleddeployment of an application feature. These methods can be implementedin any number of ways, including the structures described herein. Onesuch way may be by machine operations, of devices of the type describedin the present disclosure. Another optional way may be for one or moreof the individual operations of the methods to be performed inconjunction with one or more human operators performing some of theoperations while other operations may be performed by machines. Thesehuman operators need not be collocated with each other, but each can beonly with a machine that performs a portion of the program. In otherembodiments, the human interaction can be automated such as bypre-selected criteria that may be machine automated.

FIG. 7 is a logic flow diagram illustrating a process for providingcontrolled deployment of an application feature, according toembodiments. Process 700 may be implemented on a computing device, suchas the computing device 600 or another system.

Process 700 begins with operation 710, where the deployment service mayreceive a definition of a feature of a mobile application and a group oftenants of the mobile application from a developer. The definition maybe used to allow the mobile application associated with the group oftenants to activate the feature. The feature may include an existingcomponent, a new component, and/or a feedback component, among othercomponents of the mobile application. Next, a tenant identification maybe received from the mobile application at operation 720. The tenantidentification may include a unique identifier associated with a tenantaccessing the mobile application.

The tenant identification may be compared to the group of tenants todetect the tenant identification as within the group of tenants atoperation 730. The group of tenants may include a subset of a tenantbase classified to test the feature, and/or use the feature, amongothers. Next, an instruction may be transmitted to the mobileapplication associated with the tenant identification to activate thefeature at operation 740.

The operations included in process 700 are for illustration purposes.Providing a controlled deployment of an application feature may beimplemented by similar processes with fewer or additional steps, as wellas in different order of operations using the principles describedherein. The operations described herein may be executed by one or moteprocessors operated on one or more computing devices, one or moreprocessor cores, specialized processing devices, and or general purposeprocessors, among other examples.

In some examples, a server for providing controlled deployment of anapplication feature is described. The server includes a communicationdevice, a memory configured to store instructions associated with adeployment service, and one or more processors coupled to the memory andthe communication device. The one or more processors execute adeployment service in conjunction with the instructions stored in thememory. The deployment service includes a feature module and acommunication module. The feature module is configured to receive adefinition of a feature of a mobile application and a group of tenantsof the mobile application from a developer, receive a tenantidentification from the mobile application, and detect the tenantidentification within the group of tenants. The communication module isconfigured to transmit, through the communication device, an instructionto the mobile application associated with the tenant identification toactivate the feature.

In other examples, the tenant identification is detected within thegroup of tenants in response to a request from the developer to activatethe feature within the mobile application associated with the group oftenants. The feature module is further configured to receive a requestfrom the developer to activate the feature within the mobile applicationassociated with a percentage of the group of tenants and query anavailability of an allocation within the percentage of the group oftenants. The feature module is further configured to detect theavailability of the allocation within the percentage of the group oftenants and prompt the communication module to transmit the instructionto the mobile application associated with the tenant identification toactivate the feature. The feature module is further configured to detectan unavailability of the allocation within the percentage of the groupof tenants and prompt the communication module to transmit anotherinstruction to the mobile application associated with the tenantidentification to not activate the feature.

In further examples, the feature module is further configured toidentify a tenant attribute associated with the tenant identification,compare the tenant attribute with a group attribute of the group oftenants, and search for a match between the tenant attribute and thegroup attribute to classify the tenant identification as within thegroup of tenants. The feature module is further configured to detect atenant location associated with the tenant identification as the tenantattribute, identify the tenant location as encompassed by a geographiclocation of the group of tenants, where the geographic location isdetected as the group attribute, and affirm the match between the tenantattribute and the group attribute to classify the tenant identificationas within the group of tenants.

In other examples, the feature module is further configured to detect atenant location associated with the tenant identification as the tenantattribute, identify the tenant location as outside a geographic locationof the group of tenants, where the geographic location is detected asthe group attribute, identify a mismatch between the tenant attributeand the group attribute to classify the tenant identification as withinthe group of tenants, and prompt the communication module to transmitanother instruction to the mobile application associated with the tenantidentification to not activate the feature. The feature module isfurther configured to detect a tenant role associated with the tenantidentification as the tenant attribute, identify the tenant role asencompassed by a group role of the group of tenants, where the grouprole is detected as the group attribute, and affirm the match betweenthe tenant attribute and the group attribute to classify the tenantidentification as within the group of tenants.

In further examples, the feature module is further configured to detecta tenant role associated with the tenant identification as the tenantattribute, identify tenant role as outside a group role of the group oftenants, where the group role is detected as the group attribute,identify a mismatch between the tenant attribute and the group attributeto classify the tenant identification as within the group of tenants,and prompt the communication module to transmit another instruction tothe mobile application associated with the tenant identification to notactivate the feature. The tenant identification includes a uniqueidentifier associated with a tenant of the mobile application and atenant attribute that is matched to a group attribute of the group oftenants for a classification of the tenant identification as within thegroup of tenants.

In some examples, a method executed on a computing device for controlleddeployment of an application feature is described. The method includesreceiving a definition of a feature of a mobile application and a groupof tenants from a developer, receiving a request from the developer toactivate the feature within the mobile application associated with thegroup of tenants, receiving a tenant identification from the mobileapplication, detecting the tenant identification within the group oftenants, and transmitting an instruction to the mobile applicationassociated with the tenant identification to activate the feature.

In other examples, the method further includes receiving otherdefinition of other feature and other group of tenants from thedeveloper, receiving other request from the developer to activate theother feature within the mobile application associated with the othergroup of tenants, and receiving other tenant identification from themobile application. The method further includes detecting the othertenant identification within the other group of tenants and transmittingother instruction to the mobile application associated with the othertenant identification to activate the other feature.

In further examples, the method further includes receiving other requestfrom the developer to deactivate the feature within the mobileapplication associated with the group of tenants and transmitting otherinstruction to the mobile application associated with the tenantidentification to deactivate the feature. The method further includesreceiving a feedback definition of a feedback feature for the group oftenants from the developer, receiving a feedback request from thedeveloper to activate the feedback feature within the mobile applicationassociated with the group of the tenants, and transmitting otherinstruction to the mobile application associated with the tenantidentification to activate the feedback feature. The method furtherincludes receiving feedback from the mobile application associated withthe tenant identification, analyzing a feedback to identify a negativeimpression associated with the feature, and transmitting a newinstruction to the mobile application associated with the tenantidentification to deactivate the feature and the feedback feature.

In some examples a computer-readable memory device with instructionsstored thereon for providing controlled deployment of an applicationfeature is described. The instructions include actions that are similarto the actions of the method.

In some examples, a means for providing controlled deployment of anapplication feature is described. The means for providing controlleddeployment of an application feature includes a means for receiving adefinition of a feature of a mobile application and a group of tenantsof the mobile application from a developer, a means for receiving atenant identification from the mobile application, a means for detectingthe tenant identification within the group of tenants, and a means fortransmitting an instruction to the mobile application associated withthe tenant identification to activate the feature.

The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theembodiments. Although the subject matter has been described in languagespecific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to beunderstood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims and embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A server for providing controlled deployment ofan application feature, the server comprising: one or more processorscoupled to a memory, wherein the one or more processors are configuredto, through execution of instructions stored in the memory, receive adefinition of a feature of an application, receive a percentage of atenant base associated with the application to which the feature of theapplication is to be deployed, the percentage being less than anentirety of the tenant base, in response to initiating of theapplication at a client device, determine an availability of anallocation of the feature within the percentage of the tenant base, andin response to the availability of the allocation being determined,transmit an instruction to the application initiated at the clientdevice to activate the feature of the application for evaluation of thefeature prior to deployment.
 2. The server of claim 1, wherein the oneor more processors are further configured to, in response to theavailability of the allocation not be determined, transmit aninstruction to the application initiated at the client device not toactivate the feature of the application.
 3. The server of claim 1,wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine alocation associated with the client device and wherein the one or moreprocessors are configured to transmit the instruction to the applicationinitiated at the client device to activate the feature of theapplication in response to the availability of the allocation within thepercentage of the tenant base being determined and the location beingdetermined to be within a geographic location associated with thefeature.
 4. The server of claim 3, wherein the one or more processorsare further configured to transmit an instruction to the applicationinitiated at the client device not to activate the feature of theapplication in response to the availability of the allocation within thepercentage of the tenant base not being determined and the locationbeing determined to be outside a geographic location associated with thefeature.
 5. The server of claim 1, wherein the one or more processorsare further configured to receive feedback from the applicationassociated with the feature, analyze the feedback to identify a positiveimpression associated with the feature, and in response toidentification of the positive impression associated with the feature,transmit a second instruction to at least one application to activatethe feature.
 6. The server of claim 5, wherein the at least oneapplication includes the application initiated at the client device. 7.The server of claim 5, wherein the at least one application includes anadditional application different than the application initiated at theclient device.
 8. The server of claim 1, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further configured to receive feedback from theapplication associated with the feature, analyze the feedback toidentify a negative impression associated with the feature, and inresponse to identification of the negative impression associated withthe feature, transmit a second instruction to at least one applicationto deactivate the feature.
 9. The server of claim 8, wherein the atleast one application includes the application initiated at the clientdevice.
 10. The server of claim 8, wherein the at least one applicationincludes an additional application different than the applicationinitiated at the client device.
 11. A method executed on a computingdevice for controlled deployment of an application feature, the methodcomprising: receiving a definition of a feature of an application;receiving a percentage of a tenant base associated with the applicationto which the feature of the application is to be deployed, thepercentage being less than an entirety of the tenant base; in responseto initiating of the application at a client device, determining anavailability of an allocation of the feature within the percentage ofthe tenant base; and in response to the availability of the allocationbeing determined, transmitting an instruction to the applicationinitiated at the client device to activate the feature of theapplication for evaluation of the feature prior to deployment.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising, in response to the availabilityof the allocation not be determined, transmitting an instruction to theapplication initiated at the client device not to activate the featureof the application.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprisingdetermining a location associated with the client device and whereintransmitting the instruction to the application initiated at the clientdevice to activate the feature of the application includes transmittingthe instruction to the application initiated at the client device toactivate the feature in response to the availability of the allocationwithin the percentage of the tenant base being determined and thelocation being determined to be within a geographic location associatedwith the feature.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprisingtransmitting an instruction to the application initiated at the clientdevice not to activate the feature of the application in response to theavailability of the allocation within the percentage of the tenant basenot being determined and the location being determined to be outside ageographic location associated with the feature.
 15. The method of claim11, further comprising receiving feedback from the applicationassociated with the feature; analyzing the feedback to identify apositive impression associated with the feature; and in response toidentification of the positive impression associated with the feature,transmitting a second instruction to at least one application toactivate the feature.
 16. The method of claim 11, further comprisingreceiving feedback from the application associated with the feature;analyzing the feedback to identify a negative impression associated withthe feature; and in response to identification of the negativeimpression associated with the feature, transmitting a secondinstruction to at least one application to deactivate the feature.
 17. Acomputer-readable storage device with instructions stored thereon forproviding controlled deployment of an application feature, theinstructions comprising: receiving a definition of a feature of anapplication; receiving a percentage of a tenant base associated with theapplication to which the feature of the application is to be deployed,the percentage being less than an entirety of the tenant base; detectinginitiation of the application at a client device operated by a tenantcomparing a tenant identification of the tenant to a group of tenants;and in response to detecting the tenant identification within the groupof tenants: determining an availability of an allocation of the featurewithin the percentage of the tenant base; and in response to theavailability of the allocation being determined, transmitting aninstruction to the application initiated at the client device toactivate the feature of the application for evaluation of the feature.18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 17, wherein theinstructions further comprising receiving feedback from the applicationassociated with the feature; analyzing the feedback to identify anegative impression associated with the feature; and in response toidentification of the negative impression associated with the feature,transmitting a second instruction to at least one application todeactivate the feature.